Atchison plan may hinder Leavenworth-area airport

Leavenworth  Leavenworth County officials are talking about building a public airport there, but plans in nearby Atchison could block it.

The County Commission has approved a study of whether building a public airport would be justified. The county, its Port Authority and the cities of Basehor, Lansing, Leavenworth and Tonganoxie have agreed to spend $100,000.

Leavenworth County has private airfields, and some civilian traffic is allowed at Fort Leavenworth.

And this week, County Administrator Heather Morgan relayed what could be bad news to the Port Authority.

Atchison has proposed a $12.5 million expansion of its airport.

Morgan told the Leavenworth Times, "If Atchison was to expand its airport, we would be too close."